Networked or remote video game play has become increasingly popular. For several years now, game players using personal computers have played Doom, Quake and other multiplayer networked games over the Internet. Such multiplayer games can involve a number of different game players from all over the country or the world. One especially interesting genre of remote video games uses a team approach where the various players align themselves in teams and work together to accomplish a particular objective (defeat another team, beat another team in locating a treasure or fulfilling some other quest, etc.).
It is useful in such video game play contexts to allow the various game players to communicate with one another during game play. For example, members of the same team may wish to strategize so they can work together more effectively. Sometimes, players on opposite sides of a challenge may need to communicate information or otherwise coordinate their game play. Additionally, adding an inter-player communications capability may raise the fun factor substantially. Rather than simply sitting alone in front of a computer or television set moving a game character on a screen, the game play experience becomes much more interactive and personal when one is communicating with a group of friends or acquaintances.
While some game players are known to talk together on the telephone at the same time as they are involved in remote game play, many in the gaming industry have sought to provide a chat capability as a part of or adjunct to video game software. Early approaches, especially on PC games, provided a text chat capability allowing players to send text messages to one another. A player would use the keyboard to type in an instant message which could then be sent over the same communications medium carrying interactive game play information back and forth. Such text messages could be replied to by other players to provide interactive text “chat” communications. The effectiveness of such text chat capabilities depended on the type of game. For a relatively slow-moving long term adventure game, text chat could be quite effective in allowing players to coordinate their activities while at the same time communicating other fun and interesting information about themselves.
It has been known in the past to simulate certain real-world voice characteristics using text chat. For example, certain role playing games give players the option of qualifying their text chat with either a “whisper” command or a “shout” command. Under normal conditions, all human players receive all chats. In some games, avatars and associated human players outside of the neighborhood of the avatar making the chat declaration will not receive the chat. Qualifying the text chat declaration with a “shout” command allows all avatars to receive the chat text. Qualifying the chat declaration with a “whisper” command restricts distribution of the chat declaration to only a single specified avatar and associated human player.
To take advantage of the relatively higher communications bandwidths now available to most gamers via DSL, cable or other communications means, several software developers and game companies have developed voice chat capabilities for use in remote video game play. To use voice chat, the game players typically put on headsets that include both earphones and a microphone. Software and hardware within the personal computer or gaming platform digitizes voice picked up by the microphone and transmits the resulting digital information to other game players. At the remote side, received digitized speech signals are converted back into audio, amplified and played back through remote game player's headsets. Such voice chat eliminates the need for game players to use a keyboard while providing nearly instantaneous inter-player communications and coordination.
While much work has been done in this area in the past, further improvements are possible and desirable.
In one example illustrative non-limiting implementation, the amplitude of a game player's voice determines how far the game player's chat message is carried to other players in the virtual game environment. The other players either hear the message originator's actual voice (via voice chat) or see a text translation of the speech. For example, if a game player speaks at a normal volume level, those players and characters within a certain virtual distance range within the game environment will be able to see/hear what the player is saying. If the player shouts, players and characters further away can also hear/see. If the player whispers, only the players and characters within a smaller virtual distance range can see/hear.
In accordance with a further illustrative non-limiting example implementation, the game player can obtain power-ups in a game that extends the distance of speech (e.g., a megaphone, a microphone, an amplifier, etc.). Similarly, power-ups in the game can be used to encode speech—only those with the appropriate decoder can understand what the player is saying, though others might be able to hear/see that something was being said. The virtual distance can be determined by a physical analysis of the environment around a game character—e.g., in-game geometry, material properties, ambient temperature, ambient noise and other virtual environmental affects can be taken into consideration in determining the path and reach of the message. For example in a very noisy virtual environment, the game player may need to shout in order to have his or her message seen/heard.
In another non-limiting example implementation, the game player does not manually select which other player or players can or can't hear his or her speech. Just like in real life, any virtual game characters within certain virtual distance range (within the game) of the human player's character or avatar will be able to hear the speech. Players may attempt to control the audience for the message by varying the volume and direction of their voice. Even if player A whispers to player B who is standing right next to player A, other players may still be able to hear what player A is saying, and player A might not necessarily know this fact (again, just like real life). Player C might be able to hear what player A is saying if he or she is close enough to player B and if player A's speech amplitude is high enough to have not attenuated to an inaudible level by the time it travels the in-game distance from player A to player C. In another exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation, the game environment may be able to provide visual cues showing the speaker how far his or her voice is traveling. For example, concentric circles on the ground or other virtual surface in an overlaid fashion could be used. This would provide a good cue for the speaker to determine if a given player that is visible on-screen can hear what the player is saying.